EXIT: Advent Calendar – The Hunt for the Golden Book
KOSMOS
1+ Players
Playtime: 24 Days (5-20 Minutes a Day)
The Exit series is one of KOSMOS’ most popular lines of gaming. Each game takes advantage of the wildly popular escape room craze and puts it on the tabletop. EXIT: Advent Calendar – The Hunt for the Golden Book puts a unique spin on the formula. Rather than offering players one game that takes an hour or three to complete, this entry gives players one small puzzle every day that connects a long narrative.
In this advent calendar, players look for Santa Claus’ magical golden book. Without it, the jolly elf won’t be able to give toys to all the children in the world. Along the way, players will encounter iconic settings, jingle some bells, and of course, solve tons of riddles. Every day puts the players in a new setting, offering a new room, mysterious items, and usually a hint or two. Exit isn’t satisfied with just throwing puzzles at people, it connects them all in an intriguing narrative that makes it feel more enthralling.
Like other entries, The Hunt for the Golden Book can be enjoyed solo or with friends. With a group, this entry isn’t too tricky, as it’s on the easier end of the difficulty spectrum. This suits the theme well because it’s nice to just sit down, do a puzzle with your family, then carry on with the day (Or evening in our case). There is just enough challenge to make all of the players think, though. One or two puzzles left us sitting there for about 30 minutes trying to understand what we were missing. Players are likely to run into a few occasions when they are stumped, especially if the audience is new to the series. Fortunately, Exit offers hints that slowly guide players to a solution, usually without spoiling things too much. Regardless of puzzle difficulty or hint cards used, solving a puzzle always feels rewarding in Exit. If players really can’t figure out a puzzle, there is a walkthrough to the solution that will likely leave the players going “Ohhhhhhhhh.”
The hint system in The Hunt for the Golden Book is great for families. Older children can work with their parents to solve part of or entire puzzles. Usually, there is a competitive element for the more competitive crowd that uses social media. Since you can’t really time this experience the way that you can with other EXIT games, that is absent here. This might disappoint some, but this calendar really feels like it exists just to allow players to cozy up and enjoy the spirit of the holidays.
There is a lot of nice art filling the pages and puzzle cards of The Hunt for the Golden Book. It adds to the atmosphere quite a bit, making it more immersive. There are a few surprising items in the box that mix up the routine, like a jingle bell that you can easily hear when you shake the box. This helps capture the spirit that the game is going for, making the experience that much warmer.
Like the rest of the series, Exit is meant to only be played once. In fact, there is no other way to play it. By the end of your 24-day playthrough, you will have cut up and otherwise destroyed many cards, pages, and even the box in some ways. It’s unfortunate that players can’t get more value out of Exit, but the low price point and memorable experience make it worth it for puzzle fans. Why would you want to do the same puzzles again, anyway?
This is one of the easier Exit titles, so if you have a good experience with this one, you’ll find yourself challenged with future entries. Fans of puzzle games should certainly consider giving The Hunt for the Golden Book a try, especially if you want to use it to bond with your family. It’s a nice experience for a merry month.
The best part is, if you weren’t able to snag a copy this year, the same game will work during any holiday season, so feel free to stash it.
